A manifest is one of the key documents in the process of shipping..

A manifest lists all bills of lading issued for cargo loaded on a specific ship.. Kind of a summary if you wish..

A manifest lists the details of the cargo, the shipper, consignee, weight, measurement, packing..

There are different types of manifests:

Cargo Manifest – lists all information relating to the cargo excluding the freight charges..Freight Manifest – lists all information relating to the cargo including the freight charges.. All charges as indicated in the manifest are either to be paid by the shipper or consignee..Dangerous Cargo Manifest – a manifest that details the dangerous/hazardous cargoes on board the ship covering the Class, UN No., Description of Goods, EMS/MFAG etc..Out of Gauge Manifest – a manifest that details the out of gauge (abnormal sized) cargoes on board the ship including the out of gauge details of the cargo.Reefer Manifest – a manifest that details the reefer cargoes on board the ship including the temperature settings, humidity, which containers require monitoring on board – like cold treatment containers.

So what is a manifest correct and why is it required..??

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Once the manifest is updated in the shipping line’s system the outbound data input/documentation for that ship is deemed to be complete.. With most lines, the manifest is locked after a certain time frame – usually 72 hours after sailing of the vessel from POL..

The POL agent sends a message confirming to the POD that the data input is complete so that the POD may submit their manifest at POD to the local customs and also start sending arrival notifications to the importers..

However, at times clients require changes to be made to the details that have been submitted..

The only way that these changes can be effected after the bill of lading has been issued and manifest is locked is by way of a manifest corrector..

Non-Monetary Corrector

Let’s assume the client is changing the number of packages and the description of cargo.. A typical manifest corrector would then look like below..

In some cases, it is possible that after the submission and filing of the manifest, the client returned the full set of incorrect OBsL and got a new set of OBsL with the right description, but the manifest has been already filed with the old description..

This manifest corrector is sent to the shipping lines agents at the port of discharge or updated in the online system as a corrector..

The shipping line agent at POD will submit the corrector details to customs and port authorities as required by their regulations..

Manifest correctors CANNOT be filed at all stages.. In a lot of countries, there are cutoffs and it is not possible for the manifest to be amended once it has been filed with customs..

Sometimes customs might allow the change but levy a penalty fee on the shipping line for making amendments after original filing..

Customs authorities might not allow certain types of amendments to be done such as cargo descriptions, HS code descriptions in the bill of lading etc as it might affect the customs duty valuation already made based on a certain commodity..

So the POL agent must always ensure that the time frames for manifest correctors are followed – either the time frame of the carrier, their system or the POD authorities..

Monetary Corrector

Customers also sometimes require changes in freight terms, changing it from FREIGHT PREPAID to FREIGHT COLLECT or vice versa after the initial manifest has been captured/submitted..

In that case, the shipping line will need to issue a MONETARY CORRECTOR something like below:

When issuing monetary freight corrector especially changing from prepaid to collect, BEFORE issuing the corrector and amending the system, the POL agent must ensure that the cargo has not yet been released and that there is still a possibility to collect the freight..

The POD agent must obtain confirmation from the consignee on the bill of lading that they are willing to pay the freight and manifested charges..

Shipping lines also usually levy a manifest corrector fee based on their local tariff..

Shipping and Freight Fraud

Documents like a manifest corrector could also be a documentary risk if handled incorrectly or improperly by the documentation staff in the shipping line office..

This could also be used for shipping and freight fraud in collaboration with the shipper or their agent or freight forwarder to dupe the buyer, get away with cheaper duties at POD etc..

This is an area where blockchain is being promoted to disincentivize fraud in all parts of the chain.. By combining the immutable record of the blockchain with IoT, blockchain provides tracking of the data that was created, tracked and preserved..

Everyone with permission to view the blocks have access to information about their shipments and see what happened along the value chain and what changes were made..

Source Link | Shipping and Freight Resource